The ex-husband and in-laws of Hong Kong model Abby Choi have appeared in court, pleading not guilty to her murder over a luxury property dispute.
HONG KONG: The ex-husband and in-laws accused of murdering Hong Kong model and influencer Abby Choi appeared in court on Wednesday, in a gruesome case that has sent shockwaves through the city.
Choi, an influencer with more than 140,000 followers on Instagram, had shared photos from Paris Fashion Week just days before she was killed in 2023.
Police discovered parts of the 28-year-old’s dismembered body at a house in suburban Hong Kong. Her death was widely reported in the city, where violent crime is relatively rare.
Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and brother Anthony Kwong pleaded not guilty to murder charges, judge Brian Keith told a nine-person jury on Wednesday.
The three defendants, who face life in prison if found guilty, appeared calm as they attended the hearing.
They are also accused of preventing the lawful burial of a body, with two of them, Alex and Anthony Kwong, pleading guilty.
Choi had two children with Alex Kwong, but later divorced him and married Chris Tam, with whom she had two more children.
Prosecutors told the court on Wednesday that Choi and her ex-husband’s family had financial disputes over a luxury property she had bought for them.
They said they believed Choi had decided to register the property under the name of her former father-in-law years ago to avoid paying higher taxes.
Prosecution lawyer Charlotte Draycott told the court that Choi’s relationship with the Kwong family began to deteriorate in 2022 after she tried to sell the luxury flat, for which she had paid HK$60 million ($7.65 million).
Prosecutors said Kwong Kau, a 68-year-old retired police sergeant, had become “extremely resentful and angry” over the attempt to sell the flat.
They said he decided to kill Choi because he wanted to keep the flat and that he and his sons decided to work together.
“We say three of them decided they would do it together,” said Draycott, adding that each of them “played a part” in Choi’s death and burying her body in a suburban house.
The trial, which adjourned until Friday, is expected to last until December.
